Efficient Charge Transport in Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells via 2D/3D Ferroelectric Heterojunction

While the 2D/3D heterojunction is an effective method to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), carriers are often confined in the quantum wells (QWs) due to the unique structure of 2D perovskite, which makes the charge transport along the out-of-plane direction difficult. Here, a 2D/3D ferroelectric heterojunction formed by 4,4-difluoropiperidine hydrochloride (2FPD) in inverted PSCs is reported. The enriched 2D perovskite (2FPD)2PbI4 layer with n = 1 on the perovskite surface exhibits ferroelectric response and has oriented dipoles along the out-of-plane direction. The ferroelectricity of the oriented dipole layer facilitates the enhancement of the built-in electric field (1.06 V) and the delay of the cooling process of hot carriers, reflected in the high carrier temperature (above 1400 K) and the prolonged photobleach recovery time (139.85 fs, measured at bandgap), improving the out-of-plane conductivity. In addition, the alignment of energy levels is optimized and exciton binding energy (32.8 meV) is reduced by changing the dielectric environment of the surface. Finally, the 2FPD-treated PSCs achieve a PCE of 24.82% (certified: 24.38%) with the synergistic effect of ferroelectricity and defect passivation, while maintaining over 90% of their initial efficiency after 1000 h of maximum power point tracking.

3D-Conformer of Tris[60]fullerenylated cis-Tris(diphenylamino-fluorene) as Photoswitchable Charge-Polarizer on GHz-Responsive Trilayered Core-Shell Dielectric Nanoparticles

Novel 3D-configurated stereoisomers cis-cup-tris[C₆₀>(DPAF-C₉)] and trans-chair-tris[C₆₀>(DPAF-C₉)] were designed and synthesized in good yields. The former, with three C₆₀> cages per molecule facing at the same side of the geometrical molecular cup-shape, was proposed to provide excellent binding interaction forces at the gold surface of core-shell γ-FeO_x@AuNP nanoparticles and to direct the subsequent formation of a fullerene cage array (defined as fullerosome). Upon photoactivation of the Au-layer and cis-cup-tris[C₆₀>(DPAF-C₉)] itself, the degree of photoinduced intramolecular e⁻-transfer from DPAF to a C₆₀> moiety was found to be largely enhanced by the accumulated plasmonic resonance energy at the near-field surface. Distribution of resulting negative charges along the outer (C₆₀>)-derived fullerosome shell layer of the trilayered NPs was correlated with the detected photoswitchable dielectric amplification phenomena using white LED light at 1.0 GHz.

Dielectric Properties of Azo Polymers: Effect of the Push-Pull Azo Chromophores

The relationship between the structure and the dielectric properties of the azo polymers was studied. Four azo polymers were synthesized through the azo-coupling reaction between the same precursor (PAZ) and diazonium salts of 4-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester, 4-aminobenzonitrile, 4-nitroaniline, and 2-amino-5-nitrothiazole, respectively. The precursor and azo polymers were characterized by 1H NMR, FT-IR, UV-vis, GPC, and DSC. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the samples were measured in the frequency range of 100 Hz–200 kHz. Due to the existence of the azo chromophores, the dielectric constant of the azo polymers increases compared with that of the precursor. In addition, the dielectric constant of the azo polymers increases with the increase of the polarity of the azo chromophores. A random copolymer (PAZ-NT-PAZ) composed of the azo polymer PAZ-NT and the precursor PAZ was also prepared to investigate the content of the azo chromophores on the dielectric properties of the azo polymers. It showed that the dielectric constant increases with the increase of the azo chromophores. The results show that the dielectric constant of this kind of azo polymers can be controlled by changing the structures and contents of azo chromophores during the preparation process.

Controlling Chain Conformations of High-k Fluoropolymer Dielectrics to Enhance Charge Mobilities in Rubrene Single-Crystal Field-Effect Transistors

A novel photopatternable high-k fluoropolymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride-bromotrifluoroethylene) P(VDF-BTFE), with a dielectric constant (k) between 8 and 11 is demonstrated in thin-film transistors. Crosslinking P(VDF-BTFE) reduces energetic disorder at the dielectric-semiconductor interface by controlling the chain conformations of P(VDF-BTFE), thereby leading to approximately a threefold enhancement in the charge mobility of rubrene single-crystal field-effect transistors.

Flexible thiophene polymers: a concerted macromolecular architecture for dielectrics

Highly flexible and transparent free-standing films can be readily obtained from oligothiophene-containing norbornene polymers and their hydrogenated derivatives prepared by ROMP. The rigidness/softness of the polymer backbone and polar side chains dictate dielectric properties.

High energy density and breakdown strength from β and γ phases in poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-bromotrifluoroethylene) copolymers

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) PVDF-based copolymers represent the state of the art dielectric polymers for high energy density capacitors. Past work on these copolymers has been done with limited emphasis on the effects of copolymer composition and with a limited range of defect monomers, focusing primarily on the commercially available poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-chlorotrifluoroethylene), P(VDF-CTFE), and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene), P(VDF-HFP), and the processing thereof. To expand on this area of research, copolymers of VDF and bromotrifluoroethylene (BTFE) were synthesized examining the composition range where uniaxial stretching was possible. It is found that P(VDF-BTFE) copolymers with small BTFE contents (< 2 mol %) stabilize the γ phase, compared to P(VDF-CTFE)s and P(VDF-HFP)s that are largely α phase in composition. Furthermore, different from P(VDF-CTFE)s and P(VDF-HFP)s, whose energy storage capabilities depend on the reversibility of the α to β phases transformation, high discharged energy densities (i.e., 20.8 J/cm(3) at 716 MV/m) are also achievable through the β and γ phases in P(VDF-BTFE)s without significantly reducing crystallinity and breakdown strength. This study demonstrates new avenues to the development of high energy density ferroelectric copolymers via manipulation of the γ phase through variation of the structure and content of comonomers.